Bookworms and gamer girls marry in style in New York #Real Weddings: Northeast US#books#couples of color#gamers#geeky weddings#lesbian weddings#LGBTQ#literature theme#new york Posted Nov 23 2018 Offbeat Editors Photos by: Amy Hill Photography Photos by Amy Hill Photography Offbeat partner: Monique Offbeat partner: Pamela Date and location of wedding: Highlands Country Club, Poughkeepsie, NY — June 24, 2018 Our offbeat wedding at a glance: We wanted the wedding to have vintage/library feel. Our escort cards were library due date cards and the centerpieces were books on the bottom with a lamp on top from IKEA. We came up with the decoration for everything and kept the tables as exposed woods to bring the vintage feel out — the venue sold itself! We placed books on the fireplace mantle and above all, since our wedding was also on Pride Day for NYC, we provided our guests with pride ribbons to wear upon arrival. Tell us about the ceremony: We had a ceremony done by the amazing writer and Latina Author Alicia Anabel Santos. She made it very intimate and shared the story of how we met. We had a song play by Jussie Smollet in the middle of the ceremony called “Freedom.” It was absolutely beautiful. The entire ceremony culminated in a sand ceremony that we poured into an hourglass and received affirmation from our guests (which included our students who graduated from our respective high schools since we are teachers). We loved every moment — it was truly a special and magical day for us both. Tell us about your reception: The favors were Skittles in a rainbow pattern inside a small jar. The venue provided passed hors d'oeuvres which consisted of street corn, sushi, bruschetta, and more. The music was salsa and bachata because my wife is Dominican, and Brasílian Funk and Samba because I am from Brasil. We danced the night away with our friends and family. What was your most important lesson learned? We planned our wedding and came up with the decor through Etsy ideas and our own creative spin. We were also working at the same time so we mainly used our weekends to sit down and really plan out everything. We printed out an online agenda for our timeline and had an immense ton of help from my best friend who also is an event planner and is extremely creative and organized, The Gourmet Witch. We learned that allowing for both our personalities to be reflected in our ceremony was extremely important. Pamela loves video games so Princess Bride and Zelda were part of the cake decoration. We had one issue with clothing for my wife’s suit, but Banana Republic came to the rescue and helped out tremendously in getting her into an affordable and amazing white suit which she adored and it made her fears go away.Keep in mind, the force of love makes everything work out in the end; the universe and our loved ones held us up and made our dreams come true. Vendors Dress: David’s Bridal • Wedding Planner: The Gourmet Witch and Ivan Romero from TheHighlands Country Club • Photographer: Amy Hill Photography • Venue: The Highlands Country Club • Hair Dresser: Amna Asad • Makeup Artist: Catherine Collado • Suit: Banana Republic Gallery This slideshow requires JavaScript. PREVIOUS This edgy wedding inspiration had a crochet dress AND a mirrored dress NEXT Shop small this weekend and score BIG with your wedding vendors Show/Hide comments [ 0 ] Join the conversation Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Sign me up for your offbeat awesomeness newsletter! No-drama comment policy Part of what makes the Offbeat Empire different is our commitment to civil, constructive commenting. Make sure you're familiar with our no-drama comment policy. Biz owners & wedding bloggers Please just use your real name in your comment, not your business name or blog title. Our comments are not the place to pimp your website. If you want to promote your stuff on Offbeat Bride, join us as an advertiser instead.